Alright, let’s talk about my recent little project with the Synology 923+ and getting transcoding to work. I’ve been using Synology NAS for a while now, and I’ve always liked how they make it easy to store and access my data. But when I got my hands on the DS923+, I hit a bit of a snag with Plex transcoding.
So, the DS923+ is a pretty powerful machine, right? It’s got that AMD Ryzen processor and it’s designed to handle a lot of stuff. I figured, great, this should be a breeze for streaming my media through Plex. But nope, not as straightforward as I thought.
The Issue
Turns out, this Ryzen chip doesn’t do hardware transcoding. Yeah, you heard that right. No native support for transcoding in the hardware. This was a bit of a bummer because I was hoping to stream my movies and shows without any hiccups, you know, the usual stuff. I use direct-play, but I still need a better way.
What I Tried
- Software Transcoding: First off, I tried letting the software handle the transcoding. Plex can do it, but it’s not ideal. It’s slow, and my NAS isn’t really built for that kind of heavy lifting. My older DS920+ with an Intel chip could do this, but not this new guy.
- Messing with Settings: Then, I spent hours fiddling with settings in Plex and the Synology DSM. Maybe there was a hidden option or a workaround. I tried different media formats, adjusted streaming quality, all that jazz. No dice.
- Community Help: I even went to forums and online communities for help. Some folks had similar issues. Some talked about using Docker for other media servers, but I wanted to stick with Plex. I read through some comparisons, like DS923+ vs DS920+, and it seemed like a common problem. There were some videos, too, about DS1522+ and DS423+ comparisons with the DS923+, but nothing that really solved my issue.
What I Realized
After all that tinkering, I realized the DS923+ is more for power users who don’t rely much on transcoding. It’s great for storing files, running backups, and all those other NAS things. But for a home media setup where you want smooth streaming? Not so much. It’s more for those business-type users than home media folks, and they offer different prices and models.
My Takeaway
Look, the DS923+ is a solid NAS. It does what it’s supposed to do very well. But if you’re like me and you want a NAS that can handle Plex transcoding without breaking a sweat, you might want to look elsewhere. Maybe something with an Intel chip, like the older DS920+ or the TS-464, which I heard is good for larger files and has faster networking. I just kept using my old Synology for Plex and the new one for everything else. It’s not perfect, but it works for now. It was a bit of a letdown, but hey, you live and learn, right?